Broken World
by Renchikara
Summary: AU. [Sequel to Will Of The Heart] Lorien Legacies- Bleach style. Ichigo and Toshiro are looking for Nine. Rukia and Momo are searching for Seven. Orihime, Nel and Ulquiorra are trying to find Eight. Scattered across the world, the Loric and their allies are desperate to reunite in order to win the war, developing their powers along the way. IchiRuki, UlquiHime, HitsuHina.
1. Crack the code

**And I'm back! So, the warnings for random people who have clicked on this:**

**WARNING: Do not read this if you haven't read _Will Of The Heart_. You don't have to necesarily read the _Lorien Legacies _series, but you will have to read the prequel to this story for it to make sense.**

**Okay, for those who may have missed it: I did publish the spin-off to _Will Of The Heart_, _Dying Light_ earlier on (in October, I think). It would help you understand this story if you read the spin-off beforehand. It's only a one-shot, so it shouldn't take long.**

**So, to make it simple to newcomers:**

**Step one: read _Will Of The Heart._**

**Step two: read _Dying Light._**

**Step three: read this.**

**Anyway, hi guys! For once I don't feel like an idiot for publishing another story cuz I just found out that one of my readers has fifty incomplete stories. FIFTY. That, funnily enough, made me feel a lot better. XD**

**Um... more warnings I guess: Psychological trauma on Ichigo's part (I will go deeper into that later on), sleep deprivation (again on Ichigo's part), background depression (on everyone's part; they've all lost loved ones) and there will be a lot more fighting (and so more violence) than in the first book, though I'm keeping the rating at T. This doesn't deserve an M, not by a long shot. I think.**

**So yeah, I'm just gonna throw myself in with improvisation like I usually do with my stories, so, uh... Geronimo! Let's see where this goes!**

**Enjoy, and allons-y!**

* * *

**Crack the code**

_**3 down, 6 to go. Ain't that annoying?**_

I stare at the computer screen, completely bemused. This is the exact same message, repeated on... (I quickly check)... eighteen websites, all with separate chat rooms. And they all consist of geeks discussing possible government conspiracies and the odds of other life-sustaining planets.

Funny, 'cause most people will sort of off-handedly mention it at some point in their lives, but these people seem to be taking it very seriously. They're writing loads and loads of paragraphs, almost as if this is completely relevant to their careers, but I'm pretty sure none of them are scientists researching extra-terrestrial life, or they wouldn't bother with silly little chat rooms.

Nevertheless, these people really are taking each and every word to heart, turning this into a full scale debate. The grammar and punctuation is perfect, most entries taking up twenty to thirty lines. This is probably the reason why when I first found this particular comment it caught my eye. Short and to the point.

And so very, very relevant to my situation.

I'm having to read each and every other comment to see if there are any other Loric/Hollow-related conversations going on. But no, it's all 'Roswell this' and 'abductions that'. This really, really short comment is the only important thing on this page for me.

Oh, and as I said, it's on seventeen other websites.

The person who keeps reposting this is seriously desperate. I'm pretty sure that's the only logical explanation.

My eyelids are already drooping. This other comments are so long and so very boring...

My eyes snap open before my head can slam on the computer. _Can't sleep, can't sleep, can't sleep. WILL. NOT. SLEEP._

Toshiro, who's busy staring out the café window (keeping watch, I guess you could say) senses the sudden movement and turns around. We've got this little table in the corner beside the glass, staring out onto the street. The weather is drizzly and this café has free WiFi, so we were like, _Hell, yeah. We're totally gonna stick in here for an hour or two._

'Are you still finding that same comment?' Toshiro asks, glancing at the machine, one of the two computers the café has for guests. About an hour ago, I discovered the comment for the first time and pointed it out.

'Yeah, I've so far found it on eighteen different websites. On one of them it was only posted twenty-two hours ago. I'm considering replying.'

Toshiro stares at me. 'You have _got_ to be kidding. We'll be found.'

He's right. The chances of Hollows monitoring each and every website I'm on are worryingly high.

'We don't know where this mystery commenter is, anyway,' I mutter. 'He could be anywhere.'

'Not necessarily,' Toshiro says, sliding the computer to face his way. 'You know how you get certain websites that only work in particular regions? We can check the website settings to see if any of them fall under those requirements.'

I hold up my hands. 'You're the genius, not me.'

'Yet you still managed to hack my account back at school by working out my password,' he says under his breath.

I smirk. Yeah, as if the way he feels about a certain someone and the fact that he used her name as a password is a _big_ secret.

After about ten minutes he says. 'Here. This one specifies that the only people who can access the website, let alone comment on it, have to be here in America.'

'Oh, great,' I say sarcastically. 'Now we only have all of the United States to search through!'

'Or we could go ahead and assume that the commenter is Number Nine, in which case we can narrow that down to New York,' Toshiro says quietly, lowering his voice as he mentions Nine.

'That's still one in... what? Nineteen million?'

'No need to be so pessimistic,' Toshiro says. 'This could be a good lead.'

'The last time one of us decided to trust a voice on the internet, do you remember what happened? 'Cause it wasn't that long ago.'

Toshiro looks hurt, and I immediately feel sorry. I can't believe I brought that up, even though I have to keep reminding that I don't hold it against him. I open my mouth to apologise, but Toshiro interrupts whatever it is I might have said.

'I'm gonna go and get a drink. Do you want anything?'

'Double Espresso,' I mumble.

His frown deepens. 'Not another one. When was the last time you even slept, anyway? You can't stay awake forever.'

Last time I slept... crap, I can't even remember. Three nights ago? Four? Over the last week I've drunk more coffee than I have done in my entire life up until this point in time. Sleep sounds so very, very tempting. But I can't. There's no way I can face it. Not now. But when? I don't know anymore. I figure my body will finally take complete control and I'll collapse from exhaustion or something. At this rate, that could easily happen.

'… no caffeine,' Toshiro is saying. 'You seriously need to rest. I'll get you a juice box or something.'

'Thanks.'

It's not like I can ask the mystery commenter where they are, 'cause anyone could be watching this conversation. I've got to find a way to be more subtle. I decide to reply in a casual way to the post, _**3 down, 6 to go. Ain't that annoying?**_

_** Ikr? The empty people are being complete bitches.**_

''Empty people'?' Toshiro asks as he comes back with the drinks, staring at the computer screen.

'Hollows,' I whisper. 'It's what the word means, right?'

'That's good, but I bet anyone who's aware of this war could decipher that.'

'I know. We should go pretty soon. I just want to see if a reply comes up.'

Toshiro has bought himself a chocolate milkshake and I have an apple juice carton. I accept it gracefully, my mind flashing back to a few months ago when Rukia couldn't quite jab the straw into the hole and I had to do it for her. It's funny how the most normal of memories can randomly pop up at times like this. It just reminds me of what I'm missing.

'You know, this comment sounds like something Grimmjow would say,' Toshiro says, a half-smile on his face. 'I'll kill him if it turns out it's him.'

'The person has to be in the US, remember?'

'I know,' Toshiro says with a sigh, his smile quite sad now. 'Just a joke, really.'

_** Now I Need Explanations.**_

'Great...' I hiss as the latest post comes up from the guy I needed a reply from. 'Even if it really is one of us, I can hardly do any explaining on the internet.'

'Why does each word begin with a capital?' Toshiro breathes, gazing intently at the screen.

'So? What difference does it make?' Nevertheless, I focus on the post too. 'Now I Need Explanations'? What?

Then it dawns on me.

Now I Need Explanations.

**N**ow **I N**eed **E**xplanations.

**N I N E.**

_Nine._

Toshiro and I turn to face each other at the same time, and I can see in his eyes that he's realised it as well.

I type back, _**try and Focus On Understanding, alRight?**_

_Four._

Still not very discreet, but Nine should get it. This was his idea, after all.

_Four._

I frown. I'm not thinking that anymore.

_Four!_

No. _He's _the one saying it.

'We should go,' I announce, pushing my chair back and grabbing my juice box. No point wasting what little money we currently have. Toshiro is just finishing his milkshake, still looking at the screen as if waiting for the reply to the comment I just posted. Well, that's not going to happen. 'We have to go. _Now.'_

He snaps back to attention. 'Right. Let's go.'

* * *

I don't like the feel of Manhattan, but that's probably because Zangetsu and I always kept away from big cities, so coming to New York a few days ago felt like a terrible idea. Plus, we're not exactly sightseeing. We're just staying in crappy motels and shifting location every day so that we can keep ahead of whoever might be following. If anyone is. They must be. The only logical locations we could have gone to were New York and Santa Teresa in Spain. So Rukia and Momo are probably being tailed too. Great.

Our lives suck.

We sit in a cab right now, heading towards who the hell knows. Some street Toshiro told the driver. I don't really listen anymore. My head is swimming most time, especially when I'm in motion, and it feels like it's jumping, with my eyeballs kind of rolling back a bit every so often. The bags under my eyes are now becoming very prominent, so I can't really hide it from Toshiro. He says I'm severely sleep deprived (or something. Do I care?) and I've got to lay off the coffee so I can sleep.

No sleeping. Full stop. End of story. Bye bye.

'Thinking of caffeine? You're wearing your coffee face.'

'I have a coffee face now?' I ask, managing a smile.

He smiles too. 'Yeah. Your eyes go a bit wider and you stare at nothing in particular.'

'So... it's kind of like what I'd be like if I were high?'

'You're craving being high. There's a difference. You look like you're being possessed or something,' he says jokily.

I shiver, probably quite visibly, and I bite down on my bottom lip so hard that I draw blood. _Funny you should say that, Toshiro. Ironic, in fact._

The cab pulls to a stop in front of the run-down shack Toshiro apparently expects us to sleep in tonight. It's on the edge of a park, a seemingly endless amount of trees in the background, and I can see from the flickering lights nearby that it is connected to a garage. Sure, take a Garde who's developing _fire _powers to a _petrol _station. Figures.

'Promise you won't blow us up in your sleep or something?' Toshiro whispers to me as we slide out the doors and quickly pay the driver.

'I'll be asleep. Not much I can do to control it,' I answer. 'But I only spontaneously combust around two or three times a week, so we might be in luck.'

Kon finally makes an appearance. He's been spending most of his time as a mouse (he's starting to really show off his shape shifting abilities), sleeping in my jacket pocket. He crawls out and climbs onto my lap, nuzzling my hand gently. He looks up at me and I see a knowing look in those black mouse eyes.

It's as if he's saying, _I know why you're scared. I know what's happening to you. Don't be afraid._

Great. I'm seeking consolation from a rodent. A _rodent._

If I wasn't desperately trying to block Shiro's voice inside my head, I know he'd be laughing about that.

* * *

**'You've got to be kidding me,' I say, feeling highly annoyed.**

** 'I think we've missed the fight,' Momo murmurs, staring down into the valley beneath us. Before us lies Santa Teresa, a seemingly normal town. The buildings are all layed out like they should be, not damaged and fine. Except that collapsed chapel that looks as if it's been on fire. There's a huge cloud of smoke rising from it and a fair amount of bright yellow and red shapes all around it. They must be the police and the fire fighters.**

** Momo and I stand on the hill, having walked from where our taxi dropped us off, about two miles away. Momo says it's a good idea that we keep using different forms of transportation, because apparently that will confuse the Hollows. I think she's right; I'm not taking any chances.**

** We're travelling light; two satchels between us, including a spare change of clothes, weapons, emergency food and my Chappy bat doll. Yep. Still haven't gotten rid of that.**

** It's taken us days to get here. Momo insisted on arriving in an airport far away from Santa Teresa itself because the Hollows will be 'expecting us to arrive at the nearest airport to where we're headed'.**

** Momo doesn't like called them her people. She always just refers to them as 'Hollows', as if she doesn't consider herself to be one. She's ashamed of her race. She doesn't want to be a Hollow.**

** She is, however, proud of her parents, and I am too. We both owe Kenji and Naho Hinamori so much. Without them, Shirayuki and I wouldn't have found Momo and we would have probably been killed by Hollows when we first arrived on Earth.**

** The two of us descend the hill and arrive at Santa Teresa. For the most part, it's a bustling town of ordinary humans, though a lot of them are anxiously gossiping about the explosions at the chapel. We pass by a café and Momo grabs my arm and pulls me inside. I soon see why; there's a TV in the corner, right below the ceiling, showing the local news. The newsreader is speaking Spanish, naturally, but there are English subtitles at the bottom, and luckily Momo and I both speak English as well as Japanese.**

** _'… are yet to discover exactly what happened at the sight. Police have stated that they suspect that the strange group of men clad in black armour that were seen at the scene of the incident may be terrorists. Six bodies have been found within the wreckage, one of confirmed to be Sister Rangiku Inoue of the Santa Teresa Convent. Her daughter, Orihime, as well as another little girl at the convent named Neliel Tu Odelchwanck, are said to be missing. The police suspect that the terrorists may have captured the two girls.'_**

**Finally, we get a picture of the missing girls. It's obviously some compulsory photo that has to be taken of the girls at this convent they're talking about. The first picture is of a girl around my age, tall and beautiful, with long orange hair that's a few shades darker than Ichigo and wide grey eyes, smiling cheerfully at the camera. The second picture is of a much younger girl with an odd shade of green, short, curly hair and sad hazel eyes.**

** I stare at the first picture for a few seconds before a word escapes my lips. 'Tomoe.'**

** 'Huh?' Momo asks.**

** '… My memories are all jumbled,' I admit. 'When they all came back, it wasn't really in the right order and some things I can recall better than others. But I do remember her. We met at this meeting where there were some scientists talking to our Cêpans about us coming here to Earth, back when it was just an emergency plan. I was there with all the other Garde. I can't really remember much over those last few weeks on Lorien, but I do remember her. She was one of the Garde, sitting right next to me in the meeting. I think we were all sitting in the order of our numbers, because she has to be Number Seven. I remember her on the journey here to Earth. I stopped another girl from bullying her. Her name was Tomoe.'**

** 'Looks like she's called 'Orihime Inoue' now,' Momo says. 'Though she'll have probably changed her name when she left Santa Teresa. Do you know who the other people are?'**

** 'I don't know who the little girl is, but I recognise that woman. That's Tomoe's Cêpan,' I say as they show a picture of the woman who supposedly died in the battle. Like Orihime, her hair is long and orange, although it's much lighter and has a blonde touch to it.**

** 'Oh no,' Momo whispers, looking distraught. 'She died...'**

** 'Seven must be terrified,' I say as the newsreader announces that both Rangiku and Orihime had been at the convent for quite a few years, whereas the little green haired girl hadn't been there for long at all.**

**_ 'Several eye-witness accounts state that the girls were seen before the collapse of the chapel, supposedly talking to a young, unfamiliar man in a street not far from the chapel. The police are unsure as to who the male figure is but he is believed to be a suspect in the possible kidnapping._**

_** 'It is believed that the two girls may have not only been taken out of Santa Teresa, but out of the country too. They have been reported to have been seen at Santa Teresa airport, and the security cameras have confirmed two figures who match the appearances of the missing girls, as well as the mysterious man they were talking to on the street a few hours before, and yet another woman who is unknown.'**_

** Momo and I look at each other in despair. We've got quite a good lead here but we're too late. We've come to Spain but Seven has already left.**

** _'Airport staff have been checking their records, but as of yet they are unable to confirm any definite data.'_**

**'If only they could work out where Seven was heading,' Momo says sadly.**

** 'Probably for the best,' I state. 'If they were to do that then it would not only help us, but the Hollows as well.'**

** 'You're right,' Momo sighs. 'In any case, we have to be careful. There are probably still Hollows hanging around the town.'**

* * *

**A/N (to make it nice and distinguishable as not Rukia's POV anymore): I will stick with rotating with Ichigo's POV **(normal)**, Rukia's POV (bold) and Orihime's POV **(underlined)**. I couldn't fit Orihime's POV into this chapter, but she should be in the next.**

**People seem to like the idea of me shipping UlquiHime in this, so that's going alongside IchiRuki and HitsuHina. ^w^**

**I apologise on Ichigo's part for snapping at Toshiro. They're both very stressed. But they're still best friends, so I'll try and steer clear of the angst. Heh, me steering clear of angst. That's gonna be a challenge. XD**

**Please remember to review. If you guys have questions about my stories ('cause I don't know, maybe you read my other stories) I have a Renchikara Myoneka account on Facebook. The link's in my profile if anyone's interested.**

**Bye!**


	2. We remember

**Well, this chapter is A LOT more cheerful than the last one. No cliffy either. I am being an extra nice person here!**

**Wow, this story was an instant success! Thanks guys! ^^ You motivated me into updating probably around a month or two sooner than I actually would, though this chapter's not the longest one ever (sorry about that).**

**I've made a cover image for this story. I was on my tablet and I was bored. Plus, I have a paint app. ^^**

**Anyway, I included one of Rukia's actual quotes from the manga in this, so see if you can spot it!**

**(Re-edit: stupid chapter deleted itself, so I'm posting it again. I'm guessing it was because FF was down yesterday.)**

**Allons-y!**

* * *

**We remember**

_'Those are mine!' the little girl in front of me with the blonde pigtails announces, pointing at the hairpins in my hands that I've pulled out of my hair to gaze fondly at. I stare up at her in confusion._

_ 'Huh-?'_

_ She leans down and snatches the little blue, flower shaped garments from me. I cry out in distress, wondering why she's stolen them from me. I was just sitting here in my own private corner of the playroom where the other kids and myself hang out when she came along. She has an angry, antagonising look in her eyes. There were girls like her back home on Lorien. They pick fights for no good reason. They prey on the weak and the helpless._

_ I'm not weak and helpless._

_ Though the welling tears in my eyes say otherwise._

_ 'Th... they're n-not yours...' I say quietly. 'Th-they're mine... My b... big brother gave them t-to me...'_

_ The girl's eyes narrow. Somehow, my words have upset her. 'Yeah, well they're mine now.'_

_ I sob. I don't want to cry, but I'm scared and tired and I miss home and my big brother so much (and when can we go home? I can't take this, I want to go-)._

_ 'Didn't you hear her? It's hers, not yours.'_

_ I look up to see another girl standing nearby. She's smaller than me, around the same size as the blonde girl, with a fierce look on her face, though hers isn't in a scowl like the one the pigtailed girl is wearing. She has curved black hair, a strand falling between two large, violet eyes. She looks tiny but strong. I wish I could be more like that._

_ 'They're mine,' the blonde insists, glaring at the newcomer._

_ The black haired girl's eyes narrow. 'No, they're not. I saw you take them. Hand them over to Tomoe.'_

_ How does this girl know my name? And haven't I seen her somewhere before...?_

_ The blonde stamps her foot. 'Back off.'_

_ The black haired girl crosses her arms. 'No.'_

_ The other girl huffs in annoyance, raising her hand to strike. The child with the violet eyes tenses, looking ready to fight, but there's no need; a grown up has come over. Well, he's a bit older than us, anyway, but I think by only about ten years. He looks a lot younger than the other Cêpans. He has blonde hair, styled in a bob, and a lazy, bored look on his face._

_ 'C'mon, kiddo,' he drawls, taking a hold of the blonde girl's arm and steering her away from me and the other girl._

_ The girl shakes him off her. 'Leave me alone, Shinji.'_

_ Shinji sighs. 'Quit bein' bratty, Three. What did you do?'_

_ 'She took Tomoe's hairpins,' the black haired girl calls out, expectantly waiting for them to be returned._

_ 'Can I have them back?' I ask hesitantly._

_ Shinji shoots me and the other girl a sharp-toothed grin. 'Course ya can. Three, give 'em back.'_

_ Three sticks her tongue out at us, but she does hand them back to me. Shinji leads her away._

_ 'Thank you,' I murmur to the other girl._

_ 'That's okay,' she replies, crouching down beside me. As I look at her face I finally recognise her; she was sitting next to me at that meeting we got taken to back home, the one where me and the other kids sat on our Cêpans' laps and didn't really pay attention._

_ 'You're called Chika, aren't you?' I say._

_ 'Back home, yeah,' the girl replies. 'I'm Six, now.'_

_ 'I'm Seven.'_

_ This girl is hardly ever around. When we first came here, she stuck with two of the boys, a tall redhead and another boy around our age with vibrant orange hair. Since then, she's kind of drifted apart from everyone else. She's hardly ever in the playroom with me and the other kids. I heard Rangiku talking about her with Six's Cêpan. Six watched her family die._

_ I reach down and take her smaller hand in my own, squeezing it and giving her a smile. She looks back at me with big, sad, violet eyes. I may not be that strong and I might not be able to stand up to bullies like Six can, but I can at least comfort her and let her know that she has a friend._

* * *

I'm jolted awake by a spot of turbulence on the plane. Next to me, Nel shudders. She's been on planes before, but she's not altogether comfortable with it.

Tier and Ulquiorra are in the seats in front of us, casually talking about places we'll be visiting when we arrive in London, which as far as I can tell is code for them contemplating where exactly in the city Eight will be situated. They obviously can't use those exact words for fear of attracting unwanted attention and being overheard.

Nel is using that special ability she possesses called Aeturnus to change her age. I'm still fascinated by how she does it. I still haven't quite gotten used to the fact that she's not a seven-year-old girl that I grew to know back at the convent but her real age is in fact eleven. Right now, though, she's transformed into quite a beautiful teenager, around the same age as me, with her hair now a lot longer and still that unique, curly, green shade.

Apparently our appearances are problems, however. Ulquiorra and Tier have already mused over this. While Tier may be able to continue locating Eight with hair that contrasts a great deal with her skin colour, Nel and I look rather out of place around all the humans. I've always known that my long orange hair is a bit of a risk because it could make me easily recognisable, but I've never had the heart to dye it. One of my fuzzy memories from back on Lorien tells me that my brother adored by hair and told me it was beautiful. Still, I shouldn't be getting sentimental; this is about the survival of the Loric race, not about memories I hold dear.

As Ulquiorra is only a little bit older than myself, he, Nel and I are pretending to be school students on a foreign exchange trip to England, with Tier as our supervising teacher. Nozomi (who managed to fly past the airport security in bird form) is hiding in Nel's bag as a small lizard.

Another jolt of the plane makes Nel shudder involuntarily. I quickly take her hand in my own to reassure her, reminding me of the dream I just had about myself and Number Six, back on the ship that came to Earth. Up until recently, I could remember that there was a child who stopped Number Three from bullying me, but I could never recall exactly what this mystery child looked like. But now I can. Now I wonder how I could ever forget those unique violet eyes, so strong yet insecure at the same time. I barely knew Six, or Chika as she was once called, but we were friends.

'The turbulence scares me a little, too,' I tell Nel. 'I haven't been on a plane in a long time.'

She smiles weakly. 'I don't know why it bothers me. I was on a plane not long ago.' And by that, I know she means the one she and Tier were on that brought them to Spain, searching for me.

Tier leans over the top of her seat, looking concerned. 'Are you alright, Nel? Do you need to breath into a bag?'

'I'm alright, Miss,' Nel replies, acting as if Tier is her teacher like she, Ulquiorra and I are supposed to. 'It's just the turbulence. It creeps me out a bit.'

'It's not nice,' Ulquiorra agrees, though he doesn't really look bothered in the slightest.

'Now, when we get to London, we're going to find our hotel, alright?' Tier instructs us. 'Tomorrow, we're going to begin the tour. I want you all to work as hard as you can to complete your essays, alright?'

This is code for: _When we get to London, we'll find a secure location that we can rendezvous to should we need to. We'll need the rest, too, in order for us to fully restore our energy, especially since we shouldn't sleep much on the plane as we need to stay alert. Tomorrow, we'll work as hard as we can to start looking for Eight._

'Yes, Miss,' Nel, Ulquiorra and I say.

_We'll find you, Eight, _I add inside my head. I have to stay positive and optimistic. After all, it's what Rangiku would want. I smile sadly at the memory of her. I don't care about all the bad times or the years where she pretended that she was an ordinary human. She was a good Cêpan. I owe her everything.

My smile becomes a happy one.

* * *

'**Rukia, there's something I think we should do.'**

** I turn to face Momo, willing to accept whatever she is going to propose. After all, it's probably more progressive than me trying to move inanimate objects with my mind (I'm not even going to mention how badly I'm failing).**

** My theory goes like this: my memories have been sealed for ten years, and then I got them back very recently. But it's not just my memories that been locked up for a while, it's also my powers. While I spent all that time thinking I was a human, I never achieved anything that was beyond human capabilities. No super strength, no super speed. Just ordinary human limitations. Now? It's like I'm warming up again, building up to the abilities I should posses. Yesterday, my top speed was forty miles per hour. Today, it was forty-four. I think I'm a late developer like Ichigo was, except with me it's taking even longer because my body is used to feeling like a human body. Does that make sense? I don't know.**

** But I'm a bit... scared. Why have none of my Legacies arrived? I'm a Garde and I'm at the age where they should be developing. Is it because I've had my abilities sealed for ten years? Will it take an extra ten years for my Legacies to finally come?**

_** No, Rukia Kuchiki. Don't you dare start thinking like that. Quit despairing and be strong like you're supposed to be. You find Seven, you reunite with Ichigo, you locate the other Garde, you rescue Shirayuki and your Chest, and then you kick the asses of every single Hollow, with the exception of Momo and the other good Hollows,**_** I say inside my head. **_**Then, you restore Lorien. You got that?**_

** 'What is it?' I ask Momo.**

** We're currently in the next town along from Santa Teresa, knowing that it's risky to be so close to the place where Seven fought the Hollows but hey, at least we're not actually in Santa Teresa, right? We're in a B&amp;B, knowing we can't really do much more today as the sun has gone down now and we really do need the rest. It's just a small room we've paid for with two single beds.**

** Momo bites her lip, looking worried. 'It's risky. We could get caught.'**

** 'Occupational hazard,' I remark. 'Continue.'**

** She smiles grimly. 'Okay. I've spent quite a few months hacking the Hollow databases. It's hard, even if you are a Hollow yourself, but I've been managing. They've known that Seven has spent a long time in Spain, and it said on the news that this Orihime person definitely lived in the convent for a few years. With that in mind, there will be people who knew her. Ordinary humans whom she perhaps made friends with.'**

** 'Wouldn't it be worth talking to them?' I suggest.**

** She nods. 'That's exactly what I'm thinking. But the Hollows may have come up with that themselves. There's this one girl who was interviewed in another news broadcast who was apparently Orihime Inoue's best friend. She's called Tatsuki Arisawa. I'm thinking that we should perhaps talk to her and some of the people at the convent.'**

** I agree with this, but I'm worried about whether there will be Hollows all around the town. It's a miracle we didn't get caught earlier on today. Plus, how good will I be in a fight? I've always been quite good at punching the crap out of people- hell, on the day I finally saw Ichigo again after ten years, I was in trouble for introducing that douche bag Nnoitora to my fist.**

** I've been thinking about that day a lot recently. As far as I was concerned at the time, that was our first meeting. My amnesia prevented me from recalling a past where he and some kid called Miki were my best friends. Ichigo obviously didn't remember me because it was all so long ago. We've had years apart and the trauma from that final night on Lorien led the friendship between us to drift apart. I can hardly believe that we actually managed to find each other again, and in a situation where we thought the other was human, no less! Then again, I thought I was a human too.**

** What number was Miki again? Nine? Isn't Nine the one who's supposed to be in America? The one Ichigo and Toshiro are looking for? Man, that's gonna be a nice surprise for Ichigo, assuming he actually recognises Miki. I smile. I wonder what Miki's called now. I wonder what he looks like. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Ichigo transformed from a cute, smiley little boy into a tall, handsome teenager.**

** 'Thinking about Ichigo?' Momo asks, smiling up at me from her spot on her bed.**

** 'Uh... do Hollows posses telepathy or something?'**

** 'Nope. You're just blushing,' she answers with a grin.**

** I throw a pillow at her face, scowling. She laughs.**

** Yeah, I should probably focus on something more productive. 'Right, so we should visit the convent tomorrow, yeah? And see this Tatsuki Arisawa person?'**

** Momo nods. 'How are you feeling about fighting? 'Cause we might have to.'**

** I don't hesitate with my answer, despite the doubt in my mind. 'I'm gonna beat them. All of them. How about you?'**

** 'Same. We're going to win.'**

** As I climb into bed, I contemplate what we've both said. Momo has never really mentioned how capable she is at fighting, as Toshiro and I were usually the two who ended up in fights over the years, but I know she's got my back, and that's what matters. As far as I can see, the ones who get in the way in battles aren't the ones who lack strength but the ones who lack resolve. As long as I keep believing that I can find the rest of the Loric and beat the Hollows, I know I will find the strength to do it.**

** I will develop my Legacies. I'll find Number Seven, Orihime Inoue, or as I remember her, my old friend Tomoe, then we'll find Ichigo and we will **_**win.**_

* * *

**A/N: Has anyone read the latest chapter of the _Bleach_ manga?**


	3. Visions and searching

**And my next trick is... YET ANOTHER IRREGULAR UPDATE!**

**YAHOO!**

**Allons-y!**

* * *

**Visions and searching**

'… Thirty minutes...'

My eyes snap open to a sort of vague darkness. It must be fairly early in the morning, because there's a little bit of light flooding through the curtains of the room we're staying in. Tier managed to book us a fairly good quality (and not too expensive) hotel. This place is quite nice. I'm used to sleeping in a dormitory with lots of other girls, so sharing a rather nice bedroom with just one person is quite nice.

'… Thirty minutes... summit...'

'Nel?' I say curiously, turning to look down at my small, green-haired friend, sleeping right next to me on the single bed beside mine. Is she talking in her sleep?

'Are you okay, Nel?'

'Two... twenty... five...'

Is she... is she naming the Loric? But there is no Number Twenty. I think, anyway. It would be fantastic if there were more Loric out there. Up until recently, I believed that there were only six Garde and however many Cêpans left (it's unknown how many of them are left), but now I know that there is a Number Ten, making seven of us Garde now, and of course an extra Cêpan, Tier.

'Nel...?'

Her eyes are closed and I'm pretty sure she is definitely asleep. But somehow her face is kind of illuminated. I glance at the windows again to see if any light is somehow evading the curtains and falling on her face. But she is lying in the shadows. The light on her face is coming from somewhere else.

That's when I notice that her eyelids are brightened, like they're covering beacons.

I lean forwards and gently open her eyes with my fingers, only to find that her usual hazel orbs are glowing. Her eyes are completely white and so bright that they blind me in the instant they are open.

'Nel-?!'

'I...' Nel whispers. She's still not awake.

I let my feet drop onto the carpet and I quickly race towards the door leading onto the adjoining room where I know Harribel is sleeping and Ulquiorra should currently be keeping watch.

'Ulquiorra...!'

I'm quickly met with his pale face and dark emerald eyes. The level of calmness in his expression is soothing in a way, and it doesn't alter drastically when he rushes into mine and Nel's room to inspect the situation. Ulquiorra seems to be the type to deal with any situation, despite those panicking around him.

'Neliel? Can you hear me?' he asks quietly, resting his hand on the young girl's forehead. She continues to mutter under her breath.

'I... beholder...'

'What's happening to her?' I gasp, feeling a familiar sense of hopelessness. Will I need to heal her? If so, I'm fully rested and should easily have enough energy. I can help her; I know I can.

'Do you know if anything like this has ever happened to her before?' Ulquiorra asks.

'Not that I know of. I should get Tier...' I shuffle awkwardly by, feeling so useless. By the time I've once again reached the door to the other room, Tier is already awake and is striding our way, her face full of worry for her Garde.

'What's happened? Is Nel alright?'

'I believe she's having some sort of vision,' Ulquiorra replies, shifting slightly so that Tier can neel down next to the young girl. 'Has she ever experienced anything like this beforehand?'

'Never this strong,' Tier whispers, holding one of Nel's small hands in her own.

'So this is familiar to you?'

'She's had... episodes like this in the past,' Tier continues. 'Her eyes have gone white in the past. But she's never been glowing before.'

'What does this mean?' I ask.

'Ulquiorra is correct,' Tier murmurs. 'They are visions. At first we suspected that they were just ordinary dreams, but we've come to learn that the things Nel sees are... significant.'

'Is it a Legacy?'

'I have a feeling it is like her Aeturnus,' Tier answers. 'I think she was born with it. She's had episodes like this for most of her life- much too young for her Legacies to arrive. I think it has the potential to transform into a Legacy when she is old enough. It's kind of like... a glimpse of what she is going to achieve. Early signs and hints of the sort of powers she will one day possess.'

'Precognition,' Ulquiorra offers.

Tier nods. 'Ironic that you should use that term, because that is what I believe the Legacy itself might be.'

'What is that?' I ask.

'The ability to see the future,' Tier clarifies. 'Nel's visions generally are snap-shots of things that are yet to come. Most of what she sees is not comprehensible. As I said, she hasn't actually developed the Legacy itself, so she won't be able to harness it yet. But the things she can remember from her dreams have been helpful to us. One of her visions is what told us in the first place that there was a Loric Garde in Spain. You, Orihime.'

'Whoa... really?' I say in awe. Tier nods.

'They're not proper visions. Just flashes of usually incomprehensible scenes in her dreams. Most of the time she can't quite remember what she was dreaming about when the morning comes. We just have to wait until she's a little bit older before we can successfully interpret everything she sees.'

'Will she... will she be okay...?' I'm still really concerned about Nel's glowing eyes.

'This probably means that her Legacies are drawing closer,' Ulquiorra says as if reading my thoughts. 'Perhaps she'll be an early developer. Her powers may be closer than we anticipated. I don't believe that these symptoms are signs that she is in harm.'

I sigh in relief. 'Thank goodness.'

'… I... beholder... summit...'

'What is she trying to say?'

'She sometimes talks in her sleep during her visions,' Tier elaborates. 'Her words will be about whatever her dream is about.'

'She was saying some numbers,' I say. 'She mentioned the numbers two, twenty and five. And she kept saying something about thirty minutes, too.'

'Coordinates, perhaps?' Tier suggests. 'Or a time of the day? Like two, twenty-five pm or something.'

'She keeps saying something about a summit, too,' I continue. 'And it's like she's trying to tell us that she beholds something.'

'I don't think that's quite right,' Ulquiorra says. 'I think she doesn't mean_ I_ as in herself. I think she means _eye_, as in...' He points to one of his own emerald eyes.

'You mean like the phrase 'eye of the beholder'?' I ask.

Ulquiorra shrugs. 'I could be wrong. It's just a suggestion.'

'Whether or not this vision is relevant to our current situation is the question,' Tier murmurs.

'I'm sure we should take it into account,' Ulquiorra replies. 'These things happen for a reason.'

'… Number... Eight...' Nel whispers. We all stare at her in shock.

'I think this is important after all,' I say quietly.

* * *

It looks like we'll probably be staying in New York for a while, so Toshiro figures that it would help if we change our IDs- again.

We already worked on the fake passports to get out of Japan. I've seen Zangetsu doing countless times before and he always used to insist that I watched how it was done in case something ever happened to him. I get it now.

I don't argue with Toshiro's decision. We've only spent a few days in New York but Toshiro is new to being on the run and he's nervous about us getting noticed by anybody, understandably. As for me... well, I've grown quite paranoid, haven't I? Neither of us are taking any chances.

On top of everything else, I feel bad for Number Seven, whoever he or she is. I remember how Zangetsu and I originally decided to find Nine instead of Seven, and the plan didn't change when Zangetsu died. The only difference is that Rukia and Momo have gone to look for Seven. We don't know whether they were successful. We haven't heard from them, but that's not surprising. It would be far too risky for us to contact each other. There are no new scars in my leg, so I know none of the Loric Garde have died since Three did, all those months ago.

We start in the where we assume is the best place to start, as I last happened to see Nine here in my visions. Unfortunately, Central Park is frickin' massive. We work by the logic that I might be able to pick up some sort of residual spirit energy from Nine in the places where he's been. Toshiro theorises that spirit energy doesn't just stick with the owner; he thinks the owner might leave traces of it. I'm not arguing with his theory, and two days into the search, he's proven right. I pick up some form of spirit energy that's definitely not human or Hollow, which turns out to just be traces of it in the air. But Nine is nowhere to be seen. We're left to assume that Nine must have been here some time over the last few days (hopefully not much longer than that. We believe that spirit energy must fade after a while). Nine may even have been here a mere few hours ago, but that might just be wishful thinking.

The fact of the matter is, Nine has probably checked up on the certain requirements on those websites he's been visiting, including the one that specifies that you have to be in the States in order to access the information. The fact that we were able to communicate with him on that website must have let him know that we are also in America. But he probably isn't aware that we're in New York too.

I've gone 'sightseeing' today, Toshiro and I finally deciding that we'll cover more ground if we split up and rendezvous back at a different meeting spot each day. We're both armed, just in case- no guns, but we looted the current motel we've been staying at for two stays and found a few kitchen knives, as well as these couple of weird daggers I found in the Chest; and for the sake of our paranoia, I'm carrying the Chest with me in my rucksack. I refuse to leave any essentials at where we're staying.

I've picked up a trail. Jeez, when I say that, I sound like a dog who's picked up a scent. Anyway, I've found quite a prominent source of Loric spirit energy. I think it's more powerful because it's more recent. Or perhaps Nine is even closer than ever. I really hope it's both.

With any luck, he'll have also developed the ability to perceive spirit energy (I'm pretty sure Zangetsu said that all Garde have this power), and so Nine might detect that I'm here. It'll make my job so much easier if he's looking for me too.

My new phone rings in my pocket. This is another new development since Toshiro and I have arrived in New York; it's not like we could have kept our old phones- we left them behind in Japan on purpose. I know it's not a brilliant idea to have phones but we do need to contact each other if something happens. And only one person has my new number.

_'Any luck?' _says Toshiro on the other end.

'I've picked up a high level of spirit energy,' I reply, ducking under a low hanging arch leading into an alleyway, raising my free hand to cover my mouth so pedestrians will have less of a chance of hearing our conversation. 'I can't sense the spirit energy of any other abnormalities, so I'm guessing our empty friends won't be bothering us.'

_'That's a relief. Where are you?'_

I grin and say, 'Not a clue.'

He sighs. _'Honestly, Ichigo. You're so hopeless.'_

'Uh... somewhere in Manhattan?'

I hear a slapping sound on the other end, which I imagine is him face-palming. _'Yeah. Great. That's really helpful.'_

I look up at a sign in frustration. 'Um... somewhere called... Amsterdam Ave...'

_'And you think Nine might be nearby?'_

'I sure hope so,' I mutter.

* * *

The day draws to an end and I don't get any closer to finding the other Garde. Toshiro and I meet back at the motel as it's beginning to get dark and we decide that we should try and find somewhere else to stay tomorrow in case we're being tracked.

Without his ability to perceive spirit energy, Toshiro will obviously have more trouble than I do to detect non-humans around him. Nevertheless, he's been busy: he has visited the sites that have made it into the news for whatever reason- usually the places where there have been reported fights and explosions. The more unexplainable each case is, the better; if humans have trouble understanding these events, that could mean that this is beyond their comprehension.

'You look a lot better, you know,' Toshiro points out as I walk into the room we're staying in to find him sitting on one of the single beds, flicking through _The New York Times_.

'What are you talking about? I'm fine.'

'You are now. Or at least, you look a bit better than you did. Probably because you did actually sleep last night.'

'And most of this morning too,' I say, scowling. 'You should have woken me before you left to search today. Something could have happened to you.'

'I left a note,' he replies. 'And you seriously needed the rest. I'm sure your nightmares weren't as bad as you thought they would be.'

I decide to pretend I didn't hear that last part and to show I'm not fazed, I casually stride over to the bed and fall onto it on my back, startling the cat form of Kon from his spot on the pillow.

We figured it's pretty logical for Kon to stick with Toshiro when we split up for the search for Nine. As a human, Toshiro won't fare as well as I would in a fight, so he's got a Chimæra to aid him if a situation arises. Also, we've kind of noticed that Kon has some sort of homing device wired into his brain. He is able to find me, even when I'm quite far away. I remember that Zangetsu told me a few years ago about Chimæra, and how certain pet ones would be able to find their Garde because of the Chest, and as I'm always carrying mine with me, it means that Kon is always able to locate me. That way, Kon can lead Toshiro to me if something bad happens.

'I told you the rest would do you good,' Toshiro continues. 'You'll be more prepared for the search, and any possible battles. Did you have any dreams? Any visions about Nine?'

'I did have a dream,' I admit, feeling a little self-conscious and slightly embarrassed. 'It wasn't really any vision or anything. It was just Rukia telling me to stop acting so weak and to get my shit together.'

Toshiro smirks. 'Even in dreams, she's looking out for you.'

I laugh quietly. 'Yeah.' I wonder how she would react in real life to seeing me like this- drinking coffee so as to avoid sleep at all costs because I'm so afraid to close my eyes. She'd be like how she was in the dream.

_'Don't be such a fool, strawberry. Get back on your feet and fight back, dammit.' _That's what she said in the dream.

And I haven't had any coffee today. Not one stimulant. I'm so tired. I think it will be okay to sleep- just for a bit, anyway.

'No Shiro?' Toshiro asks.

'Huh?' I ask, my eyelids flickering slightly in exhaustion.

'In your dreams. No Shiro?'

I'm too tired to question how smart and perceptive Toshiro really is. He knows exactly what's wrong with me. I just shake my head to reply, feeling very relieved as I remember how peaceful my dream last night really was in comparison to how I expected it to be. Unless you count the part where Dream Rukia was kicking me. I smirk as my eyes properly close.

* * *

**I recognise her from one of the news reports. She was being interviewed, regarding the disappearance of the two missing girls. As Momo suggested it would be a good idea to talk to this 'Tatsuki Arisawa', I decided to take matters into my own hands. Momo has gone to visit the convent where Seven used to live in the hope that she can recover further information, and I've made my way over to the local high school. The students are just beginning to file out through the front gates, the school day now officially over.**

** The girl I've spotted matches the appearance of the girl on the news- a teenage tomboy around my age with short, spiky black hair. She walks alone, looking unamused and wearing a frown. I've placed myself a few metres from the school entrance, having spent the last ten minutes or so waiting for the final bell to go. I'm leaning up against a tree on the pavement, watching as Tatsuki walks in my direction. She doesn't seem to register my existence as she approaches, her eyes fixed on the ground in front of her.**

** I wait until she's a few feet away and then I call out, 'Tatsuki Arisawa?'**

** She stops and stares at me, then her eyes narrow. 'Who's asking?'**

** She's probably been bombarded with questions from the police and the press over the last few days, so I'm not surprised at her hostility. I decide to take a risk and be fairly truthful. I step forward and hold out my hand and say in English, 'My name is Rukia Kuchiki.' As I can't speak Spanish and she probably doesn't know Japanese, I figure we should just talk in English.**

** She doesn't shake my hand. 'What do you want?'**

** 'I want help.'**

** She scowls. 'What kind of help? Answers? Is that it? You want to ask me a million and one questions?'**

** 'Probably not that many, and not necessarily the ones everyone else are asking,' I reply.**

** 'Sure. Yeah, right.' She doesn't believe me for a second.**

** I roll my eyes. 'Do I look like the press to you?'**

** She looks me up and down quickly, a bit of confusion on her face. 'I guess not. You're just a kid.'**

** 'I'm sixteen.'**

** 'Hmm. Pretty short for your age.'**

** 'Why does everyone think I need a constant reminder?' I mutter. 'That's not the point, anyway. I need you to help me find Orihime.'**

** She raises her eyebrows, looking irritable. 'Oh, so you're looking for her? You're not just gonna write some report about this? Well, why don't you go to the police or something? I've got to go.' She continues to walk right by me.**

** 'Like the police could do anything about it,' I say sceptically without turning around.**

** I hear her footsteps stop. 'Oh yeah? And what makes you think you'd do a better job, huh? Want to be a detective when you grow up?'**

** 'I'm going to save the world,' I say casually. She's not taking me seriously, so I'm going to retaliate with the same level of patronisation- even if in reality there is actually truth in my words.**

** 'Oh, you want to be a superhero? You sure you're sixteen?' Tatsuki says, her voice dripping with sarcasm.**

** I turn to look at her to find her glaring back at me. She's obviously distressed about her missing friends and she honestly believes that I'm just a nuisance that will try interrogating her. Well, I guess I kind of am going to do that.**

** 'I used to know Orihime,' I say, racking my brain to come up with every single memory of Orihime as a little girl on the ship with me, back when she was known as Tomoe.**

** 'That's not going to work with me,' Tatsuki spits.**

** 'She used to have much shorter hair,' I continue. 'She was often a target for bullies because of her friendly and caring nature. She never wanted to hurt anybody. She really loved chocolate ice cream and enjoyed mixing food together to make weird dishes. She also had two blue, flower shaped hairpins that meant a lot to her because they were given to her by someone very important to her who died when she was very young.'**

** Tatsuki looks surprised. 'You've done your research.'**

** 'Or you can believe that I really did know her a long time ago, before she came to Santa Teresa.'**

** Tatsuki makes a tsk noise. 'Whatever. What do you want me to tell you?'**

** I inwardly sigh in relief. 'I can tell do a lot more than the police can, trust me. I'm in the same situation as Orihime.'**

** She frowns. 'What do you mean? Do you know where she is?'**

** 'She won't be in the country anymore,' I offer.**

** 'I already know that part,' Tatsuki replies. 'She apparently boarded a plane, didn't she? But they still haven't figured out whether it was really her, and they haven't told us where she was headed.'**

** 'Who was the little girl who was taken too?' I ask. I'm genuinely curious. Whether Orihime was captured or whether she fled the country, it seems illogical for a human child to have come along with her.**

** 'Nel,' Tatsuki replies. 'She was fairly new to the convent. 'Her parents had recently died.'**

** 'And do you know why Nel disappeared too?'**

** 'Because their kidnapper is a sick bastard?' Tatsuki suggests angrily.**

** 'Kidnapper?'**

** 'I bet it was that guy who was staring at Orihime,' Tatsuki mutters. 'He was following her around or something. Nel and Orihime were both really scared of him, like they knew there was something wrong with him.'**

** 'What did he look like?'**

** Tatsuki hesitates. '… Weird. He didn't look... normal.'**

** 'Pale? Empty eyes?'**

** She stares at me in shock. '… How do you know that?'**

** 'Because I know them,' I say. 'And I know what they want with Orihime. They're after me too. And I know I can help her and Nel.'**

** She's taking me completely seriously now. 'You can help them?'**

** 'Yes,' I reply. 'That's what I'm here for. I understand what's going on.'**

** 'And can you tell me what's going on?' Tatsuki seems really eager.**

** 'No. I'm sorry. This part is for your own safety,' I say calmly. 'But I can find them. I can rescue them.'**

** 'I want to help.'**

** 'Then tell me what you know. Tell me everything-'**

** I break off as I feel something slam into my side, pushing me off my feet. I crash into the pavement, staring up in bewilderment at my attacker. To my horror, I am greeted with the sight of a set of very familiar soldiers wearing black armour and helmets.**

** They've found me. I was stupid enough to let my guard down when I was talking to Tatsuki and now they're here.**

** 'What the hell?!' Tatsuki shouts.**

** I push myself to my feet quickly and spin around to face her. 'Tatsuki! Get the hell out of here! Run away!'**

** Something grasps my forehead and I lurch backwards from the force, falling into the arms of one of the soldiers. The Hollow presses a piece of fabric to my face, quickly covering my mouth and nose with an extremely strong scent. I feel my body go rigid and it quickly becomes unresponsive, no matter how loudly my brain is screaming at it to struggle and fight. My eyelids feel as if some kind of weight is forcing them shut and my vision is blurring alarmingly. I close my eyes-**

* * *

**\- and slowly open them, only to find myself in a whitened room, with a ceiling that looks as if it's made of marble. I'm lying on something hard and cold, and I'm no longer wearing the clothes I was in before, but a white gown of some kind. When I try to move my arms and legs, I find them strapped down, so I turn my head to each side to investigate. I'm lying on some sort of table and I'm completely tied down. How long have I been out?**

** 'You're not Number Four, are you?'**

** The voice is coming from somewhere to my right. A blaring light is switched on above my head and I flinch at the sudden brightness. It's like some kind of super messed up dental appointment.**

** The faces I finally begin to make out as my eyes adjust are pale and with empty eyes. They look like the soldiers I remember, but not much like Momo. I remember her telling me that there are different races among the Hollows- she's not like these ones. I think these ones are only ever used for combat or something, and right now they're acting as guards in case I try anything.**

** 'What number are you?'**

** This voice is coming from woman. I've never seen a female Hollow before, other than Momo and her mother. She looks like an ordinary human with normal brown hair and hazel eyes, but I can sense her spirit energy and I can tell that she must be the same kind of Hollow as Momo.**

** 'Eight,' I mutter.**

** 'We know that's not true,' the woman says with a condescending smile. 'We've been sent word that Eight is in England. We know you're not Seven either. She's gone to look for Eight. You can't be Four because we know he's in America, looking for Nine.'**

** I digest this information quickly. So that's where Number Seven has headed? England? Great, this means that the mystery Momo and I are trying to solve is over. We should head over to the UK as soon as possible.**

** One problem though. This whole stupid situation. And the Charm is broken. But do they know that?**

** Momo told me there's a good chance that most of the Hollows around this planet might not have been sent word that the Charm has broken yet. With a good bit of lying, I might be able to convince them not to torture and kill me.**

** 'You're Six, aren't you?' the woman continues. 'You've come here looking for Seven. Well, you're too late. She's gone.'**

** 'So, she slipped through your grasp?' I say, plastering a confident smirk on my face. I don't want to die undignified.**

** The woman scowls. 'We killed her Cêpan.'**

** An icy shiver of fury runs through me. Before I know it, I'm struggling violently against my binds, intent on proving my Loric power by breaking them.**

** 'Don't bother,' the woman dismisses. 'We know you don't have any Legacies yet. We've drugged you, anyway. You won't be able to break them.'**

** 'How can you drug me?' I demand, refusing to stop struggling. 'Doesn't that count as wounding me? The Charm should cause the effects of the drugs to rebound.'**

** 'The Charm only applies to when you're being harmed,' the woman says, picking up a clipboard from another small table nearby and beginning to jot things down. 'These drugs aren't physically harming your body- only making you a bit drowsier and unable to operate at full strength and speed. Besides, with all the Loric suddenly migrating across the world, I'm willing to bet that some have reunited and the Charm is broken.'**

** 'You're wrong,' I cough. 'It's still intact.'**

** 'Then why don't I believe you?' the woman asks with a cold smile, reaching into her white coat pocket to pull out a frightening weapon- an extremely long, sharp knife with a ragged edge on one side and an electronic chip between the blade and the hilt. Without it even being switched on, I know that it is meant to cause the the ragged bit to spin and slice. Like a chainsaw.**

** 'Hurt me and find out,' I challenge her, though my whole body is shaking in fear and I can barely hide it anymore.**

** 'That,' the woman says very quietly but with devastating power, stepping forward and holding up the knife, 'is exactly what I intend to do.'**

* * *

**A/N: I wrote most of this yesterday (or rather two days ago. I've literally just realised it's gone midnight where I live XD) but I was really tired and I only end up typing depressing stuff and horror when I'm tired (sure, that makes sense), as evidenced by... well, quite a lot of the stuff I write.**

**So, I finally include Ichigo, Rukia and Orihime's POVs in a chapter all together. And yeah, a bit of a menacing ending, but... uh... yeah, you should know that I'm evil by now.**

**Oh, and I'm doing a fun little challenge that will ultimately crash and burn due to my inconsistency and failure to keep promises (but hey, I'm trying!): I'm going to send a private message to one person each day who has me on their favourite authors list. I've kept it up for nine days so... yeah! So far so good! My random challenge is in full swing!**

**Bye!**


	4. Eye of the beholder

**Sorry it's so short, but I'm supposed to be resting, heh heh. You see, I have recently discovered that human beings do in fact sleep at night time, and if I am to assimilate and learn your mortal ways so I can report back to the Mother Ship, I do need to blend in- *cough* I mean, you heard _nothing._**

**Allons-y!**

* * *

**Eye of the beholder**

Under normal circumstances, I would be loving this. It would be a holiday. I've always wanted to visit major cities like London, Paris and New York, and I'm finally actually in one. But this a school trip or a vacation. I can't properly appreciate the city. The only sightseeing I'm doing isn't casual observation or awe-filled stares- I'm having to look around me at all times to ensure that I'm not being followed.

'So, I was saying a load of random stuff, huh?' Nel asks, sipping her banana milkshake through her straw, a thoughtful look on her young face.

Okay, so I may have exaggerated slightly about how cautious we're being. Nel and I are currently... what would ordinary humans call it? Chilling out? Yeah, that sounds about right. Nel and I are currently chilling out in a café. I think Tier's gone to try and get some money out of a cash point. Apparently she and Nel have a joint bank account with enough money to fund their journeys around the world to look for the rest of us.

When we all arrived on Earth, we were given instructions to try selling some precious gems from Lorien so that we would all have enough money to survive on this planet. The problem is, I think Rangiku gave away all our wealth in the first few months just so that the two of us had roofs over our heads and hot meals. Until we were taken in by the sisters at the convent, we were practically broke.

'What you were saying must have been pretty important,' I tell her. 'You mentioned Number Eight.'

Nel blinks. 'I did?'

I nod. 'Uh huh. You sure you don't remember any of it, Nel?'

She shakes her head. 'I hardly ever remember those dreams. Which is a shame, 'cause they're probably very important. Do you think I saw the exact location of Number Eight or something? Maybe I saw us meeting him or her in the future.'

I smile. 'Let's hope that that happens soon. Ulquiorra believes that the things you said are clues to help us find Eight. He also thinks that you might be getting close to developing you first Legacy.'

Nel jumps in her seat excitedly. 'That's great! I can't wait until I'm strong like you!'

It's my turn to blink in confusion. Nel considers me to be strong? It feels like a compliment, but now I'm worried that I won't live up to her expectations. I'm still uncomfortable with the idea of all the fighting I know I'm going to have to do.

'Speaking of Ulquiorra...' I begin, looking up at the entrance to the café. Ulquiorra stands by the door on the inside, looking almost... awkward. I'm not sure he actually realises how out of place he seems, acting all uncomfortable and distant to all these humans around us. I motion at him to join us and after a moment of hesitation, he strides over and takes a seat next to Nel, both of them opposite me.

'Yes?' he asks.

'We're supposed to be blending in, right?' Nel reminds him. 'So maybe you shouldn't act so obviously out of place. People are staring at you.'

'They're staring at all three of us,' Ulquiorra says. 'I don't look very human anyway, and your hair colours...'

'Mama said we might have to dye our hair,' Nel inputs, looking a little sad. 'I hope it doesn't come to that. I kind of like my hair. And Orihime's is unique too.'

'If we all just chat and act natural, it will look more convincing than us awkwardly standing around,' I say. 'This is the best we can do for now.'

* * *

When Tier returns with a sufficient amount of money, the four of us decide to stroll around central London to see if anything in the city holds any clues to help us decipher the weird vision Nel had last night. I can't figure out how just walking around the streets is going to possibly help us come to some revelation, but I don't say anything.

We eventually settle with taking a break in the fairly lively St James' park quite close to the Thames. The grass is enclosed a wall of trees but I can clearly see the tops of Big Ben and the London Eye poking up in the distance, the clock tower closer as it is on our side of the river. The weather is fairly nice, contrary to the usual weather you hear about it the UK, and there are families having picnics and groups of youths, hanging around in circles, laughing and shouting. Not too far away is a small girl with brown hair and her beautiful blonde mother, both of whom remind me so much of myself as a child and my dead Cêpan. I quickly turn away with a lump in my throat and face the rest of my group. Nel, Tier and I sit on a bench beside a small pond, Ulquiorra leaning up against a tree close by. He always stays close but seems to prefer a certain amount of solidarity.

'How is your ability at perceiving spirit energy going?' Tier asks me as Nel pulls off the crusts from the sandwich she's eating for lunch and chucks it into the pond for the ducks.

'There's nothing out of the ordinary,' I say. 'All the spirit energy in this area... the people here are definitely humans. Unless they're concealing their true abilities like Nel did when we first met.' I'm fairly certain my statement is correct. Other than myself and the two other Loric with me, the only abnormality here in this area of London is Ulquiorra.

''Eye of the beholder'...' Nel murmurs, quoting her vision. 'What could that mean?'

'I keep wondering about the numbers you were saying during your dream,' Tier murmurs. 'Did anyone write them down?'

'I did,' Ulquiorra says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little scrap of lined paper. 'Nel mentioned something with a duration of thirty minutes, though we're unaware what she means by that-'

'We're unaware of the meaning of pretty much everything I said,' Nel mutters.

'- and she also mentioned what we assume to be either a time of day or night,' Ulquiorra continues. 'Two, twenty-five.'

'And something about a summit,' I offer.

'A summit? Like the highest point of a mountain?' Nel asks.

'The highest point of _something_,' Tier murmurs in agreement.

'And what we're guessing is the phrase 'eye of the beholder',' Ulquiorra finishes. 'Somehow, these things all add up together to mean something.'

'So, we've got the time of day,' I say.

'Or night,' Nel adds.

'And we know that whatever this is, it's got something to do with thirty minutes. Its duration or something.'

'And we have a location, of sorts,' Tier puts. 'Somewhere high up.'

'So... what?' Nel asks. 'Do we find some tall place at two, twenty-five, wait thirty minutes and... behold something?'

'It's the best lead we've got,' Ulquiorra says approvingly.

'But... where to go?' Tier asks. 'We're in the capital city. There are hundreds of tall buildings.'

'The tallest one in London, maybe?' Nel suggests hesitantly. 'Which one is that?'

'The Shard is the tallest,' Ulquiorra answers.

The three of them continue to discuss the possibilities of which building could be the one in Nel's vision, if the summit we've heard of really is a building. I lean back on the wooden bench and gaze around bleakly for a minute or so. I'm glad we're finally starting to put it all together and figure it out, but we're still unsure of the definite location. But it's a start. My eyes travel over the line of trees, trying to spot any major buildings that stick out over the top, but the only ones I can really see are the monuments I noticed earlier...

Then it hits me.

_ Eye of the beholder._

_ Eye._

'I've got it,' I whisper.

The other three turn to stare at me. 'What is it, Hime?' Nel asks.

'I... I think I've figured it out,' I say, standing up from my seat and staring up above the tree line, praying that I've got this right. But I must have. It all makes sense.

'What do you mean?' Ulquiorra asks.

'Two, twenty-five,' I murmur. 'It probably is a time... more likely to be in afternoon because I'm pretty sure it's not open at two, twenty-five in the morning...'

'Where are you going with this?' Tier asks.

'It lasts thirty minutes,' I continue. 'The summit is at fifteen minutes up.'

'What?'

'Eye of the beholder... The phrase is just a clue to help us figure out where we need to be,' I continue. '_Eye_. Not _our_ eyes. _That_ eye.'

I still staring off into the distance, past the clock tower of Big Ben. The others follow my gaze to see for themselves. Over on the other side of the river Thames is the huge, slow moving wheel.

'The London Eye,' Ulquiorra breathes.

* * *

**The female Hollow advances towards me, the chainsaw edged knife being held up threateningly for me to see. She's waiting to see if I panic at the sight of it, because that will help her conclude exactly how safe I'm feeling, and therefore the current status of whether or not the Charm is broken. But this isn't a fair test. Charm or no Charm, anyone in their right mind would freak out if they saw a weapon like that coming towards them. It's instinctive.**

** But she can't just start chopping me up with it, can she? She must be aware that there's a possibility that it could be her own skin she'll start mangling if the Charm were still intact. And as she still isn't sure that it's broken, she knows that she could seriously end up injuring herself.**

** 'That's your own skin you're going to mess up,' I say as confidently as I can, trying to swallow down the bile that's working its way up my throat.**

** 'Oh, don't worry about me,' she says with a smirk. 'I'll take precautions before I start playing with fun toys like this one.'**

** 'Precautions?'**

** 'A little cut never bothered anyone too much,' she says.**

** 'Someone's never heard of infections,' I spit.**

** She throws back her head and laughs. The sound makes me want to vomit all the more. 'Living amongst humans really does make you realise how weak they are, doesn't it? All these silly little illnesses they get for tiny cuts and bites. AIDS, Malaria, so many others, so insignificant... humans are terribly weak, when you think about it.'**

** 'Can you hurry up and mess up on your little experiment, already?' I demand. 'I'm all for hearing interesting lectures and everything, but I draw the line at Hollows talking bullshit.'**

** 'Oh, Number Six,' the Hollow woman sighs. 'You really don't know what you've gotten yourself into, do you?'**

** 'A boring sermon, by the sounds of it.'**

** She places the weapon on the table beside me and pulls a small penknife out of her pocket. She wasn't joking. She really is going to start small and work out pretty quickly that the Charm is broken. Once I've been cut, I'm screwed. Well, more screwed than I already am, strapped to a table in what is probably some highly guarded Hollow base.**

** The small blade slides out of the contraption in her hand and she leans down, the knife just inches from my skin. This is it. This is where I'm going to die. After everything I've been through, despite everything I need to do, I'm just going to die here. Without finding Seven and the others. Without saving Shirayuki. Without reuniting with Ichigo.**

** All that's going to be left for the others to remind them that of my existence is a new scar of their ankles.**

** The blade is touching my skin now, ready to slice-**

** 'Wait.'**

** A new voice announces that someone new has entered the room, and in my panic all I can register is a combination of dismay at the thought of yet another person watching my death and a hysterical delirium of relief because something has temporarily halted my death.**

** The female Hollow stretches up and glares at the new figure in the doorway. 'What is it? I'm kind of busy, you know.'**

** 'I've been instructed to take care of Number Six,' says the new voice, and as I get my panic and relief under control I begin to recognise the voice. 'I shall interrogate her and... discover the strength of the Charm, myself.'**

** 'This is in my jurisdiction,' the female Hollow snarls disdainfully.**

** 'Well, it's in mine now,' the new voice says coldly. 'But I'm sure if you'd like to take it up with our superiors, that can be arranged... here, I have all the necessary documents...'**

_** It can't be... how on Earth did she sneak in here? Has she managed to convince them that she's one of the people working here or something?**_

**My would-be torturer stands aside, growling in frustration, and I finally catch sight of my new 'torturer', who is in fact (if all goes to plan), my rescuer.**

** She wears the icy look on her face of any of the other Hollows, but I can see a clear message in those familiar brown eyes: **_**Don't worry. I'm going to get you out of this.**_

** 'Hello, Number Six,' says Momo Hinamori.**


End file.
